34 COD'S ELI4GT1ON OF MEN ; IN CHRIST JE8trs: (sERM 2Ia think.it proper sometimes to mention it on special occa- sions,, as :part, of tl)e counsel of God toward our salva- tion. Remark II. However this doctrine may be opposed by the reasonings of men, and even ridiculed ley a bold jest, yet.. it t aetn appear to be a divine truth, as the scriptures now : fieein to teach us, the blessed. God will not be ashamed of it in the_ last great day ; then shall he unfold all the scheme of his original counsels, and spread abroad his iyansactions. toward mankind, before the face of all his intelligent creatures.. Rev. xx. 12. " When thejudgmentshall be set, acid thebooks shall be opened," that is, the hook of divine laws, and the several dispen- sations of grace, as well as the book of divine records, wherein the lives and actions of men were written down, there shall, also.,aEl they, book be openerk even the book of life : And as those former books compared together, viz. the records of the behaviour of men, whether good or evil, compared with the laws and dispensations of God, shall shew the equity of the great Judge in his re, wards and punishments; so the Lamb's book of life, wherein the names of his peoplewere written down as elected in Christ, before the world began, shall discover the blessed correspondence between the final sentence of happiness pronounced on holy believers, and the ori- ginal grace of God which chose them in Christ Jesus unto faith and holiness, and secured this happiness for them. Aglorious harmonyof divine wisdom, grace, and providence ! I cannot think, that any of the cavils of wit against this doctrine will stand before the light of the great tri- bunal. Banter and ridicule of electing love, and of the names written in the book of life, 'however they may be applauded in adegenerate age, will meet with no applause before that trelnerdousappearance.. Every mouth shall be stopped, the righteousness of God shall be cleared from every imputation, the grace of Godshall be glori- fied in all his chosen ones in that day, and Christ shall be admired in all his saints. But this leads me to the third remark: Remark III. The whole chain and. current of our sal- vation, from the beginning to the end, arises and proceeds all the way from the :free grace of God, through the 1
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